Mumbai, Apr 3: The Fire actress recently came under fire for allegedly saying “all men are rapists” in an interview. Here is why I think that all the criticism and Nandita Sen bashing on social media needs to stop!
Nandita Das is one of the handful of actresses who stand firm against gender stereotyping. She is everything a conventional actress is not supposed to be, yet she is beautiful inside out. Nandita Das also puts her celeb status to positive use as she advocates for equal rights for women and other socially relevant causes. Even the films she makes and features in define her liberal yet aware personality. So when I read a quote from the Earth 1947 actress which read “Every man is a rapist” I was aghast! My first reaction was, ” She would NEVER have said that!”
When Nandita Das heard about all the hate she was getting on social media, she tweeted, “I’m being falsely quoted Never said all men are rapists. What kind of a stupid generalisation is that? sad that 1 have to even explain this.”
Nandita is happily married to an entrepreneur named Subodh Maskara, she has a 5 year old boy and I am pretty certain that her inner most social circle includes men who are her friends. Then how can she make an outrageous statement like “All men are rapists”? Clearly this is a classic case of a celebrity being misquoted! It happens all the time. An actor/actress while being interviewed says something which is understood as something else and written about as something completely different. A lot of media survives on misquoting or quoting celebs out of context. And I believe THAT is what happened with the actress who has been a part of some phenomenally eye-opening films like Firaaq, Provoked, Earth 1947, Fire and more…
So why did people on social media show absolute disregard to Nandita Sen’s past record and started bashing her quite brutally? Das is one of the most socially aware actresses of our time. She is a feminist no doubt but that doesn’t mean she is a man-hating feminazi. Before writing her off as a “retarded feminist” or trolling her on Twitter with the #NanditaDasQuotes, why don’t we seek some clarity on the context in which the actress allegedly made that remark?
Now I ask of you to look at the source of this particular sexist quote which is allegedly by Nandita. No points for guessing, Nandita was quoted by the same media organisation which has in the past ran into a “cleavage controversy” with Deepika Padukone, called Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s legs “ugly”, and biggest of all quoted Sachin Tendulkar’s condolences on Philip Hughes’ death as “RIP Sachin Tendulkar”!
Now tell me what would you trust more: a publication with a reputation or an actress who has literally spent most of her life forwarding the cause of women’s socio-economic equality?
I guess the choice is pretty obvious. Nevertheless, I would like for you guys to tell me what you think in the comments section below. Even if you disagree with my opinion, feel free to share your
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